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AusPharm news

PSA: Pharmacists mental health framework close : 14/09/2012 :

Speaking on national R U OK? day yesterday, National President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Grant Kardachi, said PSA was in the final stages of developing a Framework for pharmacists as partners in the mental health care team which would detail the services provided by pharmacists in the delivery of mental health care as well as defining future opportunities.

"Pharmacists, because of their accessibility and ability to communicate with patients, were often the first health professionals people suffering from mental health conditions came into contact with'" he said.

R U OK? is having its second national day of action today, 13 September, dedicated to inspiring all people of all backgrounds to regularly ask each other ‘Are you ok?'

The R U OK? movement is an independent, not-for-profit organisation providing national focus and leadership on suicide prevention by empowering Australians to have open and honest conversations with those who may be doing it tough and encouraging people to stay connected with the people in their lives.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) yesterday re-affirmed its December 2011 decision to cancel the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) listing of all dextropropoxyphene containing products.

The initial TGA decision was challenged by Di-Gesic and Doloxene sponsor Aspen with the outcome being that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to review the TGA decision. In February 2012, the AAT referred the decison back to the TGA for reconsideration.

Discuss principle of dose adjustment of antibiotics in renal impairment

Describe therapeutic drug monitoring approaches used during antibiotic treatment in renally impaired people

Outline clinical issues relating to the use of low molecular weight heparin products in people with liver disease.

This activity has been accredited by the Australian College of Pharmacy as a Group 2 activity for 1 CPD credit suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist's CPD plan.Accreditation number: A1209AP0.

Click hereto do this Continuing Education activity. Or, if you prefer, you might like to take a look at our other CE activities here .

AusPharm gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by MIMS.

Boots in the UK have drawn the attention of pharmacy leaders by their new sales promotion of mix and match 3 for 2 (cheapest item free) across their entire healthcare range, including pharmacy-only medicines.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has reiterated their traditional stance on such promotions, by saying "that medicines are not normal items of commerce and should not be treated as such. Encouraging consumers to buy more pharmacy-only medicines than they need will not improve the health of the public. Whilst we support initiatives that make it easier for patients to access medicines, in our view multi-buy promotions are not appropriate for this category of medicines... Boots must support the professional and clinical decisions made by their pharmacists including where a sale is refused.”

Similar promotional issues raise their head in Australia from time to time.

The final round of 2012 grants available to SHPA members close to applicants on 30 September 2012.

For most such grants, applicants must have a minimum of 12 months current SHPA membership to be eligible to receive a grant (except student members who must have at least 3 months current SHPA membership.) Thinking ahead, if a grant would help further your work in late 2013 / 2014, plan for it now when considering your choices of professional society membership. Pharmacy grants still open in 2012 include:

On World Suicide Prevention Day, the Federal Government has provided funding aimed at enhancing the collective capacity of local communities to prevent suicide.

Minister for Mental Health, Mark Butler said the Wesley LifeForce program helps communities to develop suicide prevention strategies, improve access to appropriate services and support people at risk of suicide and those bereaved by suicide.

Health risk behaviours rising for most age groups, but some improvements in young people : 11/09/2012 :

Many health risk factors are on the rise, although some, such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, have dropped among certain age groups, particularly among young people, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The report, Risk factor trends: age patterns in key health risk factors over time, presents comparisons over time for different age groups for key risk factors for health including overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.

The Australian medicines industry’s R&D investment has exceeded $1 billion for the third successive year, according to the annual Australian Bureau of Statistics business expenditure report on R&D released yesterday.

The ABS figures show that the medicines industry attracted $1.036 billion in R&D investment in 2010-11. The medicines industry’s R&D investment was the third largest by area of business expenditure, behind financial services and mining.

In 2008, inappropriate prescribing of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) is likely to have cost the community nearly $3 million, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The report, Medications prescribed for people with obstructive airways disease: antibiotics and inhaled corticosteroids, shows that 44% of people whose records suggested that they had a short term respiratory infection but did not have obstructive airways disease received short term inhaled corticosteroids with oral antibiotics.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is once again looking to reward excellence in community pharmacy. Entries are now open for the Quality Care Pharmacy Program (QCPP) Pharmacy of the Year awards, which provide the highest recognition of superior achievement in the industry.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia (SH&FPA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will see pharmacists receive special training in the provision of emergency contraception through community pharmacies.

National President of the PSA, Grant Kardachi, said the MoU established a solid framework for commitment and ongoing co-operation between the two national organisations.

The topic of this week's RGH E‑Bulletin is Atypical fractures with bisphosphonates.

"Bisphosphonates are used for patients with osteoporosis with the intent to reduce the incidence of fractures. Recently it has been suggested there is a link between long-term bisphosphonate use and atypical fractures in the subtrochanteric and shaft regions of the femur."

Click here to read the bulletin in full. The E‑Bulletins are archived on the AusPharmList website here.

In March 2012, to help ensure anti-dementia drugs PBS listed for Alzheimers Disease continue to be used appropriately and to ensure their ongoing cost-effectiveness, the PBAC recommended a post-market review of all such drugs.

Submissions to the review have now been made public with 21 submissions received including one from the Society of Hospital Pharmacist of Australia (SHPA).

There is growing international literature detailing the impact of stress, job satisfaction and psychological symptoms on pharmacists, yet we have no data on this topic in Australian pharmacists. This is important given the current changes and pressures that are present in the Australian pharmacy workforce, including a difficult retail climate, health reforms, a potential oversupply of pharmacists, the introduction of mandatory notification and concerns about job satisfaction and career progression.

To bridge this knowledge gap, researchers from the Faculty of Pharmacy at The University of Sydney (Dr Claire O’Reilly, A/Prof Tim Chen, Dr Abilio Neto and Nelson Nguyen) are conducting a study to examine self-reported stress and psychological morbidity of Australian pharmacists.